Mr. Fox

I am happy you've discovered it is awesome. It is hard to convince people to try something new when they are comfortable with something they are used to. It's not perfect, but neither is Windoze. I think it is a much better OS than Winduhz. I would not be surprised if once you break through the apprehension stage you'll start to enjoy the geeky side of Linux. Using a Linux terminal (or Windows command prompt) just feels good.

See edited post above...

I have to put in a plug for Thermal Grizzly. I purchased the Mycro LGA-1700 Direct Die block and it performed poorly compared to the IceMan Cooling block. I emailed them and asked for an RMA, provided the before/after temperature comparisons. They did not do an RMA, just apologized and issued a refund. Fast forward a few months, they contacted me, totally out of the blue, and offered to send me the updated product. I didn't ask for it. I replied and accepted and they sent it. Works great. Essentially the same thermal performance as the IceMan block. I like the design of the cold plate better. It has a rim around the die to contact the PCB, which adds support and spreads out the compression of the PCB into the socket instead of the die being the only point of contact. And, it makes a dam to keep the liquid metal confined to the die area. These results are without the chiller, in my hot (79°F) office. More extended stress test...

That's a good idea, but bear in mind that using it from USB will not peform at the same level as a proper install. I don't think you will have full graphics, etc. But, you can certainly get a feel for things other than gaming. There is a way to do a persistent USB installation to allow installation of apps on a permanent basis (never tried it) but anything you download and install otherwise will disappear at reboot when using in USB test mode.

You can play them on Linux. I have. Both work fine. Almost anything in your Steam Library should work with Proton Experimental. Enable that in the Steam settings. Install Steam from the Zorin software center as well. This should be completely hassle-free if you choose it during setup. No fuss, no muss. Linux Updates will keep the most current confirmed-stable NVIDIA drivers installed as well. Updates in Linux generally do not use the public as crash-test dummies like Windows drivers do. If it is not stable it doesn't get approved and doesn't install with updates. Sometimes there are quirky things with laptops that Linux doesn't support because they are very proprietary and require special software even in Windows. Turdbook fan controls and RGB lighting that only work in Windows with crappy software from the turdbook manufacturer often have no support in Linux. But, they also have no support in Windows except with the bloatware cancer the turdbook manufacturer requires their zombie horde "customers" to install.

If you are going to install it on the same drive as Windows 11 simply shrink the partition (50% is reasonable) then boot Linux from USB and install it on the free space you created. The setup process in Zorin Linux is step-by-step, plain-language and holds your hand along the way, like a realtime tutorial. Since you know how to install Windows already, chances are you will find this equally simple, if not more simple, to do with no advance preparation. Zorin is designed to be easy for a Linux novice to slip right in with no hassles or rigmarole. That said, they probably still have self-help tutorials on the Zorin support pages for people that are apprehensive. Choose the option to install proprietary drivers and it will set up your NVIDIA GPU as well as the Intel iGPU/Optimus if your laptop has that.

Use the Printscreen key and it will save it to your "Pictures" folder, or you can download something fancier using one of many free software applications available in the software center included with Zorin. Just search for screenshot or screen capture. That is how I have always overclocked and I have no degradation. I also use manual voltage and set a core voltage (VR) limit. He has more than one video on the topic as it relates to degradation and I think he is spot-on. This is also a better practice for AMD CPUs. Allowing preferred core boosting has always been something I have viewed as stupid, if not harmful. Intel TVB and AMD PBO are stupid IMHO.

Well, maybe now we can all save our money and go find something else to enjoy. I'm not particularly interested in giving AMD another opportunity to earn my business. In spite of the inital excitement and anticipation, it has always ended up proving to be a huge, hype-driven waste of my time and money that required too many compromises to be happy. Lowering the bar to find contentment isn't an acceptable option to me. Given my recent discovery of how extremely usable and performant the X79 Rampage IV Gene and Xeon CPU has remained in spite of its antiquity, I think my three Z790 machines might end up meeting my computing needs for a long time to come. If I'm not chasing numbers, there's little or no sound logic to be found in wasting money on a hardware upgrade. There probably hasn't been a better opportunity for Winduhz zombie users to divert their calorie burning efforts to becoming dangerously self-sufficient and effective Linux Power-User nerds.

Zorin is probably the best out-of-the-box Linux experience for anyone that is new to Linux. It just works and it is really nice. Not the best for customization compared to some others, but definitely an ideal place to get wet behind the ears. Another good option, not quite as easy for a newbie, is to install Pop!_OS then install Mint desktop environment. I have been disconnected enough that trying to make something special of the HWBOT experience feels like an exercise in futility. I haven't stopped liking it, but it has begun to feel like the cost and effort to make any progress on ranking isn't worth it. The "reward" has always been a psychological one, but it is more difficult to find gratification than it used to be. Having to enable ECC for 4090 is probably where the slow descent became a nosedive for me. Linux is fine for benching, but most of the Windows benchmark tools we are used to playing with and like the most either do not function on Linux, or they require a lot of tinkering. In-game benchmarks work fine if the game works, and it will more often than not. Tons of Windows games run perfectly on Linux using Steam Proton or Lutris. You can also run Cinebench on Lutris. But, 3DMark benchmarks are a no-go, and HWBOT doesn't accept submissions for Windows benchmarks run on Linux. Sadly, they do not support any Linux benchmarks, which seems like a farce since they do have a leaderboard for Android smartphones and tablet. The idea of benching a smartphone or tablet seems absurd. Like benching on Windows with everything stock. Why even bother? Nonsense.

You're not wrong. My favorite games of all time are Crysis, Crysis 2 and Crysis 3... in that order. I love the remastered versions as well, better than anything else. Ever. Rounding out my top five, add Quake II and Quake II RTX. No wasted time, calories, and brain cells with frequent and disruptive cut scenes, fluffy storylines, hunting for clues, crafting crap, leveling up, side missions, social networking and similar nonsense.

There is a wide gamut and the issue is everyone is thrown into the same bucket and labeled "gamers" but "gaming laptops and desktops" do not need to be insanely powerful, expensive or good at overclocking. The popularity of AMD X3D processors among those whose primary objective is gaming is one example of this. So, putting us all into the same niche is totally inaccurate and ignores the reality that gaming does not matter immensely to some of the people they have labeled as such. I used to consider myself a "gamer" because that is where my interest in computers first blossomed into an aggressive interest in computers. Over time my interests morphed into a passion for the hardware and diminishing interest in software. Software (games, applications and operating systems) applications are important but not stimulating to me. Now I consider it an insult to be categorized as a "gamer" and recognize that as being a manifestation of ignorance, apathy or a cocktail of both conditions. The things I am passionate about don't matter to many or most people that refer to themselves as a "gamer" or "gaming enthusiast" and the things they are most passionate about are not particularly interesting or important to me. I am an overclocking enthusiast with a casual interest in a limited genre of PC gaming and zero interest in gaming when it involves social engagement, online multiplayer, RPG or Strategy gaming genres and contempt for console gaming regardless of genre.

Leadership failures that are glossed over by the media and wrongly blamed on a prior administration that wasn't a failure.

Some of them are posers (gamers) that pretend to be enthusiasts but don't have a clue. They think that buying the most expensive option makes them one. They are only enthusiasts at wasting money on things they don't know how to use. Like a person that buys a handgun for self-defense. He puts it in the nightstand next to his bed, but doesn't know how to load the clip with bullets and does not even realize it did not come with bullets.

Agree. And, I am finding it harder than ever to identify those that do. Now more than ever, and similar to mainstream "news" media, it is an echo chamber with all of them reading from the same propaganda script. Accuracy, objectivity, facts and truth simply don't matter. Just stick to the script, focus on the buzz words, practice the chant and advance the narrative.

Yeah, tech reviewer opinions should be taken with a grain of salt overall. And, game reviews are often the same for me as movie reviews. If the major reviewers give bad reviews to a movie then there is about a 99% chance that I will love it enough to want to buy it for my home library. And, if it is one that the reviewers rave about, then there is better than 75% chance that I will consider it to be a sucky flop that I don't even waste my time watching to the end. Back in the day when I spent a lot of time in movie theaters, before YouTube movie trailers were common, I walked out of many movies that I felt were a waste of my time. If there was another movie showing sometimes I would leave the one I paid for and sneak into to a different viewing room to watch something else instead. Funny how often reviewer opinions are diametrically opposed to my opinions. Now I generally don't even look at movie reviews because they are time wasters. I watch trailers on YouTube and base my decision to watch the movies based on their trailers. As they say, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

Released yesterday...

We live is a truly disgusting era. We are surrounded by incompetence, mediocrity and totally outnumbered by imbeciles. I finally replaced that automotive 800 CFM fan with nine Arctic P12 Max fans. The automotive fan worked really well, but at low speed it had an annoying chatter to it that I never got used to. I have to say these P12 Max fans are very impressive. I think they might be my favorite 120MM fan now. Their static pressure is absolutely insane and I have never felt the volume of air getting pushed through a radiator the way these beastly fans do it. Even on maximum speed they are surprisingly less obnoxious than I thought they would be. When researching static pressure + CFM I could not find a fan rated for higher static pressure. They are almost double the static pressure of fans that the manufacturers brag about being high static pressure, and I can easily tell by the massive volume of air getting rammed through the Nova 1080 radiator. I ordered them on Amazon and had to wait several weeks for delivery. Seems Arctic's stock was depleted and they were on backorder everywhere. The order was placed on July 29. I am controlling the fans with one of these and it also works very well. Going forward I think these will be my fan of choice.

I'd have to log in to my Ubisoft library to try to even identify one title that I sort of liked. I can't think of one off the top of my head. I generally do not care for anything they release. Most of what is in that library (which is tiny compared to the others) are titles I got for free, played once for 30 minutes, then uninstalled and flagged as hidden so it would not waste any space in the list. They cater to people whose tastes in gaming genres are completely foreign to me.

Let's go Brandon! Have fun... this is, of course, one man's opinion. YMMV.

I don't worry too much about trusting sources. A lot of the "reliable" and "trustworthy" sources have let us down recently. I do not believe anyone or anything is safe. Micro$lop taking care of #1 first and not caring what their customers users think and stealing data (pretending an EULA makes it OK) is no less dangerous than some guy modding a Windows ISO. Our information being sold on the Dark Web was stolen from "trustworthy" sources. I might even be more inclined to trust "some dude" rather than a big data aggregator.

We still need more options for the rep button, such as 100, angry emoji and vomiting emoji. I would use the vomiting emoji for Windows 11 subject matter. Copilot marks the start of a new era of Windoze mega-suckiness. The world is full of silly, stupid, ignorant and just plain old fashioned nutjobs and lunatics that are a danger to themselves and everyone else, and those dunderheads can't wait to have AI ruin things. Winduhz 11 was already ruined, so I digress. The should have named it "Co-Pirate" instead. Maybe that's how they pronounce it in China.

Dumbed-down caterers to the dumbest of the lowest common denominators. A one-size fits all hat that only actually fits people with a shrunken head. The don't actually care about Windoze anymore, or the people that use it. They just want to sell you their other crap that only runs on Winduhz. Jay did a nice job on this video and it should be helpful to noobs. His description of the qualities and behaviors of the thermal pastes he compared matches my experiences with each of them.

Yeah, that has me stumped as well. Especially when it comes to CPU performance. It's so bloated and burdened with worthless crap, processes and services that serve no legitimate purpose as far as I'm concerned.